‘They were concentration camps’: B.C. residential school vigil creator speaks on one year mark

Emotional support or assistance for those who are affected by the residential school system can be found at Indian Residential School Survivors Society toll-free 1 (800) 721-0066 or 24-hr Crisis Line 1 (866) 925-4419.

Saturday marked one year since the creation of a vigil for children whose remains were found at a Kamloops residential school.

Last year 215 pairs of kids’ shoes were placed on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery in memory of the children’s remains found at the school.

Many gathered Saturday at the art gallery, where teddy bears and shoes were placed, and a sacred fire was lit. Non-Indigenous bystanders were encouraged to place sage into the fire, and to pray for children found at the residential schools.

Haida artist Tamara Bell, who created the memorial display with her son, said calling them schools is an inaccurate way to portray the injustices that took place.

“They were not schools, they were concentration camps,” said Bell. “Children were electrocuted (and at) many of the schools there was cages where they would strip the children naked.”

“In many of the schools babies were born. And those children were destroyed.”

The First Nations community has vigil keepers who guard the art gallery memorial, and they say they will stay until every last child is found. Bell says only a fraction of the children have been found so far, and that many more are out there.

“There’s substantially more,” said Bell. “We need to know that some of those children were buried, some of them were burned. And that’s what happened in these schools.”

One of the vigil keepers, Diseree Simeon, said she has been living at the art gallery for one year. She explained she is protecting the memorial against vandalism and is caring for the site, and despite harassment and discomfort, she is grateful to be present.

“To be able to be here, it’s an honor to take care of the children that are here (and) to take care of their spirits in a good way,” said Simeon.

Related links:

• One year since Kamloops unmarked graves discovery marked with sombre ceremony

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On May 23, a memorial was held in Kamloops to mark one-year since unmarked graves were found at the former residential school site in Kamloops.

“The unmarked graves brought truth to the world and the world stood with us in solidarity and unity,” Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir said.

“We also want to acknowledge the other communities that have had similar findings. Our hearts are with you and all the communities that had been affected and all of our consultants who have been impacted, as well as the public who too have been traumatized and learning as a true impacts of the residential school and what it has [done to] our people.”

Angela White, the executive director for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, which operates the 24 hour a day crisis line, explained the mourning process has been incredibly difficult.

“The emotions are very charged. I think a lot of it is with regards to one, giving the survivors the permission to begin the healing journey that they needed,” White told CityNews.

It’s estimated 150,000 Indigenous children were forced into the residential school system.

According to the National Centre Truth and Reconciliation, there are currently 4115 children listed in the National Student Memorial.

With files from Katarina Szulc and Claire Fenton

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